Emotional Literacy

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

I did not receive any comments on my Obama post. Perhaps it was too far away from my reader's reality. So let me speak of something more personal.

The question has been asked: Are guilt, jealousy and envy part of the list of emotions in Emlit training?

I have preferred to keep the list limited to anger, fear, sadness, love, joy, hope. Jealousy, envy and guilt are in the grey area of this approach to emotional awareness.

In my opinion what definitely qualifies an experience as a primary emotion is if it is visible in one of the "lower" mammals. On that basis, envy is not a primary emotion because I haven't been able to detect envy in cats or dogs or other animals. On the other hand guilt and jealousy could be said to be visible in animals. Still just because it may not be visible in the lower mammals does not prove that cannot be present in humans.

Each primary emotion has distinct bodily, hormonal correlates which generate a feeling experience (adrenalin, oxitocin, serotonin) and in my opinion there are more than five, less than ten, primary emotions. Envy in my opinion (I could be wrong) is not one of the primary emotions. .Jealousy is a complex emotion which combines (depending on the person) experiencing it a number of different primary emotions. Examples: love+sadness or love+anger+fear or any number of other forms of jealousy. About guilt I'm just not sure

I have had many discussions on the subject without definitive conclusions, My purpose is to simplify the process of awareness and differentiation. In the end I will not argue if someone says they are feeling envy or guilt. If they say that they are feeling humiliated or discounted which are definitely not emotions I will search for the primary emotion behind the experience.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Barak Obama’s behavior as a politician has been the subject of much analysis in the USA and abroad. By the time he was elected president of the US he was known insome circles as "No Drama Obama" This is because of the remarkably low level of melodramatic behavior in his political activities.

This could be of interest to emlit theory. There is an intriguingrelationship between Obama's "no drama” attitude and transactional analysis'familiar concept of the Drama Triangle. (Karpman) in which peopleswitch between three classic game roles (Rescuer, Persecutor, Victim) in their daily lives, at work, in politics whenever and wherever they interact with others.

Observation of Obama's behavior repeatedly confirms that he resistsPersecution or Victim behavior even when persistently urged by hisfollowers or the news media. No drama reveals a reluctance to get hooked into games and that he prefers and is able to stay in his Adult ego state.

Thisprobably was a decisive factor in his election as it gave him an aura ofmaturity and competence needed to persuade independent voters.

After two years of systematic attack from the Right (that he is a Muslim, not born in the US, a socialist, a fascist, ruining the country, etc.) it seems that he has lost the wide support that he once enjoyed. Yet his no drama approach continues.

One of the critiques is that he is too rational, (too Adult) toounemotional. He is being urged by his supporters to get in the ring and fight. In otherwords he is being encouraged to get out of the Adult and into the RescueTriangle, as a way to show that he is capable of emotions. So far he has not done so and continues to pursue his agenda with a cool Adult approach.Question: Will this work? Is it necessary in order to be emotionally competent to expressstrong emotions in difficult situations? Is Obama emotionally literate or emotionally illiterate?

Claude Steiner

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Wednesday, August 4, 2010

I am eager to start sharing my thoughts on the meaning and application of emotional literacy but I have so many ways of approaching the subject that I don't know how to begin. Can you help me decide where to start?

For instance, should I write about:

The practical benefits of using emotional literacy transactions in our relationships.

The problems of using emotional literacy methods in our relationships.

How are emotional literacy methods applied in the real world.

The politics of emotional literacy.

The Critical Parent and emotional literacy.

Emotional Literacy as a liberation movement.

The basic method of emotional literacy training.

The philosophical implications of the principles of emotional literacy.

Please don't be intimidated by having to sign up. All you need to provide is your email as a login and a simple password and then let me know what you think in the comments box section below.

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About Me

I am a transactional analyst disciple colleague and eventually friend of Eric Berne. Transactional analysis is many things to many people. But most agree that it is based on the belief that everyone is born OK with potential for growth, well being and full expression. Emotional literacy is a human potential that has interested me for the last 35 years and I have developed a method for its development using transactional analysis tools.
People around the world yearn for freedom and millions are actively involved in bringing it about in a variety of ways. My wish is to provide practical, everyday love centered transactional analytic tools needed to promote democracy, cooperation, emotional literacy and personal freedom for full development at an everyday, practical level; in small groups and person-to-person relation ships.